This invention relates generally to electric lamps and more particularly to electric head lamps for motor vehicles.
In vheicle halogen head lamps, a tungsten halogen bulb is used as the primary light source. In comparison with a bare tungsten filament which has been used as the primary light source in conventional vehicle head lamps, the tungsten halogen bulb is quite massive and commonly weighs about one hundred times more than the bare filament. Therefore, it is very important that the tungsten halogen bulb be rigidly mounted in the head lamp so that the filament in the bulb remains in a predetermined location relative to the reflector after the head lamp is assembled.
The present invention provides a bulb support mechanism that securely and accurately holds a halogen bulb of either the single filament type or the dual filament type. The bulb support mechanism includes a pair of straps which extend around and engage the bulb base at locations spaced apart longitudinally of the bulb. In the preferred embodiment, the bulb base is substantially flat and includes a protuberance on each side which is located between the straps and which keeps the straps separated and electrically insulated from each other. When the present invention is used in connection with a vehicle head lamp having a bulb, a reflector, and two support wires connected to the reflector, the two straps are attached to the bulb base as previously stated and are secured to the two support wires thereby rigidly mounting the bulb in the head lamp.